International flights have resumed at the main airport in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, following Wednesday's fire that gutted parts of the airport.

A plane from London was the first to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 06:30 local time (03:30 GMT), Kenyan airport authorities said.

Other planes from Bangkok and Kilimanjaro also landed on Thursday.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. Kenyan authorities say no serious injuries were reported.

The Nairobi airport is a regional hub serving more than 16,000 passengers daily and its closure caused widespread disruption.

International flights into the city had been diverted to other airports in Eldoret and the coastal city of Mombasa.

On Wednesday the interior ministry announced the resumption of domestic and cargo services.

The fire took about four hours to bring under control, by which time the arrivals hall had been gutted.

Experts say it will be years before problems at the plant can be fully contained

Japan's prime minister pledged government action on the Fukushima clean-up, as radioactive water leaks from the nuclear plant.

On Wednesday, a government official said up to 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water may be flowing into the sea every day.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government would take "firm measures" to contain the leak.

One proposal being considered is to freeze the ground around the plant.

The plant was badly damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011. It has been hit by a spate of water leaks and power failures in recent months.

"Rather than relying on [plant operator] Tokyo Electric, the government will take measures," Mr Abe told reporters on Wednesday.

"This is an urgent matter that needs to be addressed."

Penn Bowers, a research analyst at CLSA Asia Pacific in Tokyo, told the BBC that the government appeared to be set to take a bigger role in the Tepco clean-up.

"[The government has] invested capital in the company to date but not taken any direct operational steps at the facility until now," he said.

'Frozen wall'

Contaminated water may have been leaking from the plant into the sea ever since the 2011 nuclear disaster, an official at Japan's energy ministry said.

The government believed that up to 300 tonnes of radioactive water could be leaking into the sea on a daily basis, the official added.

However, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) told the BBC that the figure was only a guess, and that it was not clear how much water flowing into the sea was contaminated with radiation.

The contaminated water is thought to have come from the 400 tonnes of groundwater pumped into the plant every day to cool the reactors, after cooling systems were knocked out by the tsunami.

The government is discussing proposals to build a wall of frozen ground around the reactor buildings to prevent further leaks. Reports suggest this could cost up to 40bn yen ($400m; £260m).

Chinese trade data is often seen as unreliable

Growth in Chinese exports and imports rose more than expected in July, a sharp recovery from the previous month.

Chinese exports rose 5.1% compared with a year earlier while imports gained 10.9%.

The rises were wild swings from June's data, which showed exports had fallen 3.1% and imports had dropped 0.7%.

Last month, the government reiterated its 7.5% economic growth target for this year, after expansion slowed in the second quarter.

The July data meant the trade surplus narrowed to $17.8bn (£11.5bn), down from June's $27.1bn.

'Stabilisation'

Analysts said the results were surprisingly good, but warned against being too optimistic.

"July seems to reflect a return to a 'normal', relatively uninspiring trend after a weak June, rather than the beginning of an acceleration in growth," said Alaistair Chan from Moody's Analytics in a report. "While the worst seems to be over, the upturn will be relatively flat."

“Start Quote

The fundamentals in the economy did not support such a strong rebound”

Wei YaoSociete Generale

China has seen its manufacturing and exports sector slow in the wake of the global financial crisis that has sapped demand for its products. These sectors were the main drivers of the economy for China through its years of blistering growth.

In June, China saw export growth decline for the first time in 17 months.

Analysts said the rise in exports was a stabilisation.

"The higher-than-expected export growth is easier to understand and this kind of growth rate still reflects that external demand just picked up very slowly," said Wei Yao from Societe Generale in Hong Kong. "It is more of a stabilisation rather than a sharp rebound."

Mixed messages

However, she said the sharp rebound in imports was harder to explain.

"Even though the government had announced some supportive measures, they should not show effects so soon. The fundamentals in the economy did not support such a strong rebound," she said.

Chinese data in general, and especially trade data, is often seen as being unreliable, with some suggesting that false invoicing and other factors could skew the numbers.

The data comes after mixed data from the Chinese economy last week, with official and private surveys of the country's manufacturing sector showing differing results.

The Chinese economy posted growth of 7.8% in 2012, its slowest pace since 1999.

Data showed it had since slowed further, with growth in the April-June period faltering to 7.5% compared to the previous year, from 7.7% in the first quarter.

Spectators watched as the house where Ariel Castro held Amanda Berry, Gina De Jesus and Michelle Knight captive, was demolished

The house in Cleveland, Ohio, where Ariel Castro held three women in brutal captivity for years has been torn down.

At about 07:30 local time (11:30 GMT), a wrecking machine smashed through the house to begin the demolition.

Castro, 53, a former school bus driver, was sentenced to life in prison last week after pleading guilty to dozens of rape, kidnapping and other charges.

On Wednesday morning, Ms Knight spent several minutes in front of the house where she was held for 11 years as Castro's captive, a period she had described at his sentencing as "hell".

Then a crew of workers wearing high-visibility jackets tore the house down using heavy demolition kit, as neighbours and television crews looked on. Onlookers cheered.

Within minutes, the house was reduced to a pile of rubble.

Castro's neighbours in the working-class district of Cleveland had vowed to see the house demolished at the conclusion of the trial.

A plume of smoke were visible kilometres away, as Naomi Grimley reports

Air travellers across Africa are facing long delays after a huge fire ripped through the main airport in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, forcing its closure.

Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded outside Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

It has reopened for cargo and domestic services, though many flights have been diverted to other regional airports.

The Kenyan authorities say no casualties have been reported and that the blaze has been contained.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. Security officials say they are waiting to inspect the damage before drawing any conclusions.

James Ole Lenku: "We will make sure that we establish the true cause of the fire. As of now we don't know what's happened"

However, correspondents say the airport is old and overcrowded.

'Slow response'

The fire started in the airport's international arrivals and immigration area at around 05:00 (02:00 GMT) and spread quickly. Dark smoke was seen billowing into the sky above Nairobi as the blaze took hold.

Passengers arriving on international flights - some still in their seats - reported hearing explosions from the terminal building.

"When I arrived there were one or two fire engines parked outside the international arrivals. It spread very fast,'' British passenger, Martyn Collbeck, told the Associated Press. "I would have expected more fire engines to respond faster."

At the scene

Emmanuel IgunzaBBC News, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

The plumes of smoke bellowing from the arrival area of the airport could be seen from as far as 4km (2.5 miles) away. Outside the arrival area I saw passengers sitting on the pavement with their luggage - stranded in the early morning cold.

Those who had witnessed the fire start described scenes of chaos as people ran in the wrong direction, before rushing back out to safety. Some said they heard small explosions as the fire intensified. Hundreds of airport staff were also evacuated from the arrival area.

It was all hands on deck as firefighters from Nairobi County, the army and private firms battled the fire. I saw dozens of army officers with buckets rushing to the scene.

Some passengers complained that they had been left stranded with no information regarding their connecting flights, and no food or water.

Fire engines battled through Nairobi's infamous traffic jams to reach the airport. Witnesses said some did not arrive until one or two hours after the fire began. Many engines also quickly ran out of water.

It took about four hours to bring the fire under control, by which time the arrivals hall had been gutted. There were no immediate reports of any deaths of serious injuries, although two people were treated for smoke inhalation.

International flights carrying business travellers and tourists were initially diverted to the southern coastal city of Mombasa.

Later, flights were also diverted to Eldoret in the north-west and Kisumu in the west, as well as Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and Entebbe in Uganda. Passengers faced bus journeys of hundreds of miles to reach Nairobi.

Passengers outside the airport said they had been stranded with no information, reports the BBC's Emmanuel Igunza at the airport.

"This is too much. It was very nice here but this is just a mess," said Medr Gudru, a German tourist who had hoped to fly home on Wednesday.

"The airlines are working to assist stranded passengers and advise them on the measures being put in place to resume services at JKIA,'' said Stephen Gichuki, director of the Kenyan Airports Authority (KAA).

On Wednesday afternoon, almost 12 hours after the fire began, government officials said the airport had reopened for domestic and cargo flights.

Eyewitness: "I could see there was really no plan of action - people were just running from left to right"

Cabinet Secretary for Transport Michael Kamau told reporters that the authorities would begin preparing the small domestic terminal for handling international departures and arrivals.

"We started pitching tents on the airside for handling departing passengers," he added.

President Uhuru Kenyatta - whose father the airport is named after - has toured the remains of the international arrivals hall to see the damage. The building was gutted by the fire and the roof has partially collapsed. The floor is covered in debris and water.

'Disastrous'

The airport is a regional hub and a vital part of Kenya's tourism industry, reports BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding in Johannesburg.

Jomo Kenyatta Airport

Busiest airport in east and central Africa, and seventh busiest in Africa

Handles six million passengers a year

Hub for neighbouring countries as well as cities as far away as Lagos, Johannesburg and Cairo - as well as gateway to continent for Europe and Asia

Serves 49 destinations in 23 countries, across five continents

Key export point for Kenya's flower industry, one of the country's top foreign exchange earners - Kenyan flowers account for 35% of flowers imported into the EU

"President Kenyatta wishes to reassure the entire aviation industry, investors, local and international travellers that everything is being done to resume normal operations," presidential spokesman Manoah Esipisu said.

A third of Europe's flower imports, and many fresh vegetables, also come from Kenya.

Shares in Kenya Airways, which uses the airport as its main hub, fell 2% after the fire.

Foreign airlines which use the terminal include British Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways, KLM, Turkish Airways, South African Airways and Ethiopian Airways.

Kenya Airways said flights from London and Bangkok would land as scheduled in Nairobi on Thursday morning, according to the Reuters news agency.

British Airways said it was in contact with the authorities to provide customers due to travel with as much information and notice as possible.

There have been more than 130 cases of bird flu in eastern China

Researchers have reported the first case of human-to-human transmission of the new strain of bird flu that has emerged in China.

The British Medical Journal said a 32-year-old woman was infected after caring for her father. Both later died.

Until now there had been no evidence of anyone catching the H7N9 virus other than after direct contact with birds.

But experts stressed it does not mean the virus has developed the ability to spread easily between humans.

By 30 June there had been 133 cases of H7N9 bird flu reported in eastern China and 43 deaths.

Most people had visited live poultry markets or had close contact with live poultry in the week or two before they became ill.

Intensive care

Yet researchers found that the 32-year-old woman had become infected in March after caring for her 60-year-old father in hospital.

Unlike her father - who had visited a poultry market in the week before falling ill - she had no known exposure to live poultry but fell ill six days after her last contact with him.

Both died in intensive care of multiple organ failure.

Tests on the virus taken from both patients showed the strains were almost genetically identical, which supports the theory that the daughter was infected directly from her father rather than another source.

Public health officials tested 43 close contacts of the patients but all tested negative for H7N9, suggesting the ability of the virus to spread was limited.

The researchers said that while there was no evidence to suggest the virus had gained the ability to spread from person to person efficiently, this was the first case of a "probable transmission" from human to human.

'Strong warning sign'

"Our findings reinforce that the novel virus possesses the potential for pandemic spread," they concluded.

Dr James Rudge, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that limited transmission between humans is not surprising and has been seen before in other bird flu viruses, such as H5N1.

He added: "It would be a worry if we start to see longer chains of transmission between people, when one person infects someone else, who in turn infects more people, and so on.

"And particularly if each infected case goes on to infect, on average, more than one other person, this would be a strong warning sign that we might be in the early stages of an epidemic."

An accompanying editorial in the BMJ, co-authored by Dr Rudge, concluded that while this study might not suggest that H7N9 is any closer to delivering the next pandemic, "it does provide a timely reminder of the need to remain extremely vigilant".

Hundreds of South Korean protestors have demanded the reopening of the park

North and South Korea have agreed to resume talks on reopening the Kaesong industrial zone, days after Seoul demanded "final talks" on the matter.

In a statement on Wednesday, Pyongyang offered talks on 14 August, saying its workers would return to the joint complex and the safety of South Korean staff would be guaranteed.

Both sides would prevent another suspension of operations, it added.

South Korea has accepted the proposal, describing it as "forward-looking".

Several previous rounds of talks have ended in deadlock. South Korea is demanding Pyongyang provide guarantees it will not unilaterally close the zone again.

It was not immediately clear whether North Korea's offer fulfilled Seoul's criteria for such a guarantee.

The North Korean offer came shortly after Seoul announced insurance payments to companies affected by the stoppage - a move seen as paving the way for a formal closure of the site.

'New phase'

The zone, which lies just inside North Korea, has been closed since Pyongyang withdrew its workers in April, angered by UN sanctions following its 12 February nuclear test and a US-South Korea military drill.

The zone is home to 123 South Korean factories employing more than 50,000 North Korean workers, and is a key source of revenue for the North.

Several rounds of talks on resuming operations ended in deadlock in July.

Wednesday's statement, attributed to North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, said: "The North side will lift the step for temporarily suspending operations... [and] allow the entry of South Korean businesses."

"The North and the South will prevent the recurrence of the suspension of operation in the KIZ [Kaesong Industrial Zone] and ensure normal operation in the KIZ without being affected by any situation in any case," it said, without giving further details.

The proposal was "prompted by [North Korea's] desire to bring about a new phase of reconciliation, co-operation, peace, reunification and prosperity by normalising operation in the Kaesong zone", the statement added.

South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk said Seoul had agreed to the 14 August talks.

Aid pledge

Hours earlier, as around 500 South Korean factory owners and workers protested in Paju over the closure, Seoul said it had authorised insurance payments worth 280bn won ($251m; £163m) to companies affected by the suspension.

The complex is a key source of revenue for the North

Under insurance rules, companies can receive up to 90% of their investment losses in compensation, and ownership of the companies' assets will go to the government, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

The move was seen as a step towards closing down the zone permanently.

The proposed movement on Kaesong also came a day after Seoul said it was providing $6m (£4m) in aid to North Korea.

South Korean officials said it was the first time in two years that government aid had been sent to North Korea.

The North, which suffered severe floods in the last two years, relies on aid to feed its people.

But the flow of aid from Seoul has been halted in recent years amid deadlock over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

The aid will be sent through the UN children's charity Unicef, and will provide vaccines, medical care and food for children.